Behind the Wire 1915

Great War Canadian officers interned in Holland.

“Interned in Holland”
Photo taken at Schevenigen of Canadian officers taken prisoner of war at the Second Battle of Ypres, 1915. Captain B.L. Johnston (3rd Battalion CEF), Major R.Y. Cory (15th Battalion CEF “48th Highlanders”), Lieutenant V.A. MacLean (16th Battalion CEF “Canadian Scottish”), Lieutenant F.W. MacDonald (15th Battalion CEF “48th Highlanders”). From  Canada Magazine, an Illustrated Weekly Journal.

16th Battalion C.E.F. Prisoners of War (Part 1)

At long last the first installment of Canadian Scottish soldiers captured during the Great War. This work would not have been possible without the tremendous effort of the late Ted Wigney whose work, in recording and publishing (for all) a record of CEF prisoners of war, was a fine accomplishment.

No matter how often one walks these fields of France and Flanders attempting to learn more about these days of fury, there is always one more feature or landscape , one more place to visit, one more path to walk. It is this call to the heart that builds upon my memories of previous visits, – these investigations into the soul of this earth, water, and sky. The feelings we sense of these places, the quiet now, the combat then, the light, the dark, the known, the unknown, all felt or witnessed by those who were here before us. Research is my kindling, fanning the spark to return time and time again.

Next visit will include a return to Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery where my kindling of research has led me to the burial sites of two 16th Battalion prisoners of war. I wonder what we will feel this time as our ever watchful eye wanders across the horizon always searching…

See also Behind the Wire 1916 and Behind the Wire 1918.

(DATES OF CAPTURE IN BOLD)

 April 22, 1915

Wood, Andrew
Private        28691
Released December 27, 1918 

April 23, 1915

Adams, Charles John
Private      29178
Died of Wounds as Prisoner of War April 23, 1915
Commemorated Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium

Annand, Archibald
Private       29176
Died of Wounds as Prisoner of War August 7, 1915
Buried Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery, Belgium

Barlow, Frank
Private        28565
Released January 7, 1919

Bushnell, Lucien Hamilton
Sergeant       29072
Released November 18, 1918

Dougall, Thomas
Private        420842
Released December 18, 1918

Guilbride, Samuel Arthur
Private        28627
Released December 10, 1918

Hayward, Harold Blakeney
Private        28633
Released December 24, 1918

Hill, Bertram Thomas
Lance Corporal     28743
Released December 27, 1918

Hobbs, Selwyn
Private        29330
Released November 25, 1918

Houston, Richard
Private        29332
Released November 24, 1918

Long, Fred
Prvate        29113
Released December 7, 1915

Barbed wire picquet

Great War barbed wire picquet near Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery Belgium.

Siberry, Richard
Private        29268
Gunshot wound lower left leg
Died of Wounds as Prisoner of War May 6, 1915
Buried Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery, Belgium

On the left, the marker of Private Richard Siberry, Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery. (P. Ferguson image, September 2017).

On the left, the marker of Private Richard Siberry, Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery. (P. Ferguson image, September 2017).

Speirs, Lewis Maurice
Private        28867
Escaped May 2, 1918
Awarded the Military Medal
“In recognition of gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity which services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919. To be dated 5 May 1919″.

Walker, William Harry
Private        28685
Released December 7, 1918

Warwick, Albert George
Private        29280
Released December 15, 1918

April 24, 1915

Bruce, Joseph Charles
Corporal        28715
Released November 18, 1918

Buchan, William
Private        21678
Released January 10, 1919

Bullock, Cecil Hurst
Private        29074
Released January 6, 1919

Chiverall, Sidney Joseph
Private        28853
Released October 7, 1915
Leg Amputated

Giles, Frederick
Private        29446
Released February 15, 1919

Grant, Peter Martin
Private        28976
Released December 19, 1918
Mentioned in Despatches

Hamilton, Harry Edgar
Private        28629
Released January 7, 1919

Hoggarth, Thomas Emanuel
Private        29106
Released December 9, 1918

Kiloh, James
Corporal        29565
Released December 27, 1918

McAuley, Malcolm Angus
Sergeant        23029
Released December 27, 1918

McNicoll, Donald
Private        28653
Released December 18, 1918

Ragbourn, Herbert William
Private        28866
Died of Wounds as Prisoner of War May 4, 1915
Buried Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium

Robinson, Peter Herman
Private        23045
Released December 23, 1918

Royston, Richard Cuthbert
Private        29015
Escaped April 15, 1918
Awarded Military Medal
“In recognition of gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity which services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919. To be dated 5 May 1919″.

Williams, Edmund John
Private        29032
Died of Wounds as Prisoner of War May 1, 1915
Buried Niederzwehren War Cemetery, Germany

April 26, 1915

MacLean, Victor Alexander
Captain
Released November 18, 1918
Awarded the Military Cross and the Russian Order of St. Anne 4th Class
Military Cross announced in Supplement to the London Gazette 30 January 1920, page 1219
“In recognition of gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity which services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919. To be dated 5 May 1919″.

Army Order 193 (1919)
“Rewards for Officers and Soldiers for services in the field and for services rendered in captivity or in attempting to escape or escaping therefrom.”

List of Prisoners of War (16th Battalion CEF) compiled from:
Wigney, Edward H. “Guests of the Kaiser; Prisoners-of-War of the Canadian Expeditionary force 1915-1918”, (CEF Books, 2008)


About The Author

pferguson
Paul has worked with the Paradigm Motion Picture Company since 2009 as producer, historian and research specialist. Paul first met Casey and Ian WIlliams of Paradigm in April 2007 at Ieper (Ypres), Belgium when ceremonies were being held for the re-dedication of the Vimy Memorial, France. Paul's sensitivity to film was developed at an early age seeing his first films at RCAF Zweibrucken, Germany and in Sardinia. Paul returned to Canada in 1967 and was further amazed by David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge on the River Kwai". Film captivated Paul and with time he became increasingly interested in storytelling, content development, character, direction, cinematography and soundtracks. At the University of Victoria, Paul studied and compared Japanese and Australian film and became interested in Australian film maker Peter Weir and his film "Gallipoli" (1981). Paul was entranced when he learned Weir had visited the beaches, ridges and ravines of the peninsula. The film "Gallipoli" alone led Paul on many journeys to sites of conflict in England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Malta, Hawaii, Gallipoli and Salonika. It was, however, when Paul watched documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, "The Civil War", that Paul understood how his own experience and insight could be effective and perhaps influential in film-making. Combining his knowledge of Museums and Archives, exhibitions and idea strategies with his film interests would be a natural progression. Paul thinks like a film-maker. His passion for history and storytelling brings to Paradigm an eye (and ear) to the keen and sensitive interests of; content development, the understanding of successful and relational use of collections, imagery and voice. Like Paul's favorite actor, Peter O'Toole, he believes in the adage “To deepen not broaden.” While on this path Paul always remembers his grandmother whose father did not return from the Great War and how his loss shaped her life and how her experience continues to guide him.

Comments

3 Responses to “Behind the Wire 1915”

  1. pferguson pferguson says:

    Marker of Private Richard Siberry added 20 January 2018.

  2. pferguson says:

    Behind the Wire (Part Two) of this subject was published January 20, 2018.

  3. pferguson pferguson says:

    Behind the Wire (Part Three) of this subject was published January 10, 2020. Link added.

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